Railway budget: A tightrope walk for Mamata

New Delhi: It is expected to be a tightrope walk for Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has emphasised on giving a “human face” to Indian Railways, as she hopes to introduce populist measures in the rail budget amid the impact of Sixth Pay Commissi on and the economic slowdown.

Banerjee, who will present the railway budget for 2009-10 in Parliament on July 3, aspires to make rail travel cheaper for passengers but may find it difficult to generate revenues from other sources.

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There has already been a steep drop in freight earnings in the first two months of the current fiscal and she might have to announce incentives to achieve the loading target of 920 MT. That makes her job of generating revenues for Railways all the more difficult. Railways have been further impacted by the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations.

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A source in the Ministry said, “The three per cent growth in freight earnings the Railway achieved during the first two months this fiscal is far less than the over eight per cent growth it registered in previous years for the same period.”

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